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KOMATSU STARTS BUILDING BRISBANE SUPER-SITE

Komatsu Australia Limited has begun building a new super-site at Wacol, southwest of Brisbane.

The centre will assemble up to 70 "ultraclass" dump trucks per year on-site, beginning January 2012. Komatsu will inject $50 million into the local economy in total project expenditure.

The centre will act as a one-stop shop for Komatsu's Queensland customers with sales, service, and assembly of mining and utility equipment taking place on-site.

The facility will house Komatsu's national Mining Division head office, and will service a national customer base through a state-of-the-art remanufacturing centre.

Stage One will involve the construction of more than 14,000m2 of workshop and assembly facilities on the 56,000m2 site.

More than 400 jobs will be generated during the construction phase.

The greenfields Wacol site will employ over 200 people when fully operational.

Komatsu Australia Limited President Bill Pike said the Wacol facility was the company's single biggest investment in its 45 years of Australian operations.

"Wacol marks the start of a strategic nationwide expansion program for Komatsu," he said.

"Significant investment by the company in Queensland will enhance our capability and commitment to our customers in the Australian marketplace.

"Moving forward, Komatsu has a positive outlook on the Australian resource and construction markets, as well as the economy in general.

"The new Wacol facility will allow us to more than meet the requirements of our customers in south-east Queensland and right across Australia long into the future," Mr Pike said.

Komatsu is investing heavily in local employment, with the Wacol facility set to add an additional 78 full-time jobs to the region by 2015. Currently, Komatsu employs more than 1600 people in Australia.

Komatsu received significant support from the Queensland State Government and Brisbane City Council, leading to Brisbane being selected for the new facility.

Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development, Andrew Fraser, said the attraction of Komatsu's Remanufacturing Centre to Queensland was further proof the State is a great place to do business.

"There was strong competition from other States to attract Komatsu so this news simply reinforces that Queensland is open for business," Mr. Fraser said.

"More and more we are successfully encouraging businesses, looking to expand their operations, to choose Queensland as the place to be.

"Our policy framework is acutely focused on attracting investments like this for the benefit of our economy and local jobseekers.

"Komatsu will make a significant contribution to the community, making 41 apprenticeship positions available to jobseekers and further bolstering the high growth in the mining equipment and technology sector.

"Wacol has a strong manufacturing and industrial history, acting as an employment hub for the area so it was a natural fit for Komatsu to set up shop there.

"We want to continue to see investment like this in our state and have put in place the policies and business incentives to achieve that result."

Mr. Fraser said that since July 1998, the Queensland Investment Incentives Scheme had supported the creation and retention of 25,135 full time jobs with companies that had invested capital expenditure of $1.736 billion in Queensland.

Komatsu received project support from the Queensland Government through the Queensland Investment Incentives Scheme and Brisbane City Council through the Investment Attraction division of Brisbane Marketing with site selection and the development approvals process - which influenced and ultimately lead to the Brisbane location being selected for this major facility.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Cr. Campbell Newman said the facility would encourage future development in the region.

"We welcome new development by respected manufacturers such as Komatsu, and the significant economic benefits they bring," Cr Newman said.

"We look forward to seeing the facility take shape, and eagerly await the commencement of operations in 2012," he said.

The Wacol development features several cutting-edge environmental measures and is planned around the principle of ecological sustainability.

Mr Pike said Komatsu's environmental record locally and around the world stood at the pinnacle of the industrial sector.

"The Wacol site is specifically designed to incorporate a variety of high-tech environmental control measures as part of the company's global commitment to reducing its ecological footprint," he said.

Rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient lighting, temperature-controlling insulation and a bio-retention basin will all minimise the environmental impact of the site.

"Early next year Komatsu will be launching the world's first Diesel Electric Hybrid excavator on the Australian market, complementing the world-first Komatsu Hybrid forklift already in service," Mr Pike said.

To complement the Wacol development, Komatsu Australia is finalising plans for the expansion of its Mackay assembly facility.

Stage One of this multi-million dollar expansion began in November 2010 with the relocation of Komatsu's spare parts warehouse to an all-new state-of-the-art facility in Mackay.

Construction of the expanded Mackay assembly facility will be completed late in 2011, allowing the company to expand production of its largest dump truck, the 960E electric-drive.

Komatsu says the 960E, with a payload rating in excess of 360 tonnes, is in strong demand in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland. An expanded Mackay facility will provide enhanced delivery to key customers.

Construction of the Wacol facility will span a 12-month period, with final fit-out to take place late in 2011. The site is due to commence operation January 1, 2012.

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